Artistic Masks
by Puh-Schell
Summary: Percy Weasley, the perfect boy. Prefect, a job at the ministry… But is he really happy? Does he really like his life? What would happen if he decides to live his life like he wants it… What if a Malfoy takes an interest in him?


**Title**: Not yet chosen, for the time being: Artistic Masks

**Author**: Puh-Schell

**Warnings**: It's going to be a bit dark later on; some violence, maybe some swearing; incest; slash; a bit angsty

**Summary**: Percy Weasley, the perfect boy. Prefect, a job at the ministry… But is he really happy? Does he really like his life? What would happen if he decided to live his life like he wants it… What if a Malfoy takes an interest in him?

**Main Pairing**: Percy Weasley/Lucius Malfoy

**Other Pairings**: Fred Weasley7George Weasley; Charlie Weasley/Bill Weasley; Ron Weasley/Hermione; Harry Potter/?

**Time Line**: Takes place in Harry's fifth year

**A/N**: This is unbetaed. If some is interested in being my beta, please e-mail me. My old beta doesn't have the time to correct my writings any more. I'd also appreciate it if you'd tell me when I've got a big mistake in the text, seeing as English is not my native language.

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"Percy dear, you really want to move out?"

It seemed as if Percy's mother had to ask this question a hundred times before she would actually believe it. ~It's not that hard to believe, is it?~ Percy thought to himself. ~Bill and Charlie moved out and she wasn't acting like this. Am I that different from my siblings?~ Percy was annoyed. He had told his parents that he would be moving into his own flat within the next three days.

His parents had reacted differently from when Bill and Charlie had moved out. His father had wanted to know where he would live, how high the price was, etc. And he had – surprisingly – wanted to know **why** Percy was moving out.

Why? In Percy's opinion that was a silly question. He was twenty. Bill had moved out directly after his graduation and Charlie when he had been 19. And nobody had asked why. Instead, his mother had said that her sons were now independent. She had been proud. Then, why did they ask **him** why he was moving out?

Did he seem to be so dependent on his parents? Well, it was possible that they thought he couldn't look after himself well enough. After all, he always worked and ate next to nothing since last month.

But that was just because he had been promoted. ~I suppose it's my own fault… after all, I didn't tell them.~

Percy hadn't told his parents that he now worked in the Department of Mysteries. But did he have to tell them everything? He was **twenty**.

"Yes, mom." God, he just wanted this to be over. He needed some furniture for his flat, some food and other such basic things. He needed to lie down on a couch and have a nice quiet evening. But did he get those things?

"But Percy, why now all of sudden?" His father interrupted again.

"Mom, Dad. I want to move out, into my own flat. Is there anything wrong about that?" Normally, Percy wouldn't ask such bold questions; especially not if the person involved were his parents and especially not in this annoyed tone. But he had done it anyway. He had done many things in the last days. Rented a flat in muggle London. Looked for some cheap furniture for his flat. Not told his parents he'd been promoted.

His father looked a bit sad now while his mother looked concerned.

"No, Percy. Of course you can always move out. We just want to make sure you're okay." Percy barely managed not to snort at that. Somehow he didn't believe it the way he should have. Instead, he just sighed.

"Mom, I'm going to be alright.  You can owl, I will still come to visit you here as often as possible and you can visit me. I am fully capable of looking after myself"

"Of course Percy. We were just worried. You have to give us your floo address."

That was the point Percy was dreading. ~Here it goes…~ "I don't have a floo address."

His mother looked confused. "Percy, haven't you registered yet? Of haven't you decided on a name yet?"

"No, I don't have a floo address because I'll be living in muggle London." Percy had purposefully not told his parents that bit of information. And they hadn't really asked.

"Muggle London?" his mother stuttered. His father seemed delighted and concerned at the same time. "So, you'll have those muggle devices in your flat? Interesting. But Percy, are you sure it's safe? You'll have to dress and pose like a muggle if you want to live there."

"I know, dad. It's absolutely safe. And I know how muggles dress and behave."

"So, you're moving out in three days?" his mother wanted – yet again – to know. Percy nodded. "Yes. In three days." "When do you plan to tell the rest of the family?" Percy thought for a minute. "I planned to tell them the day I moved out at breakfast. I don't want more of the twins' mischief during the three days here."  His parents nodded.

"I wanted to look for some furniture today. You'll excuse me?" In an instant his mother was in full mother hen mode.

"But Percy! We could always spare a desk! If you're moving out, you can take your old desk with you! That's not a problem at all…"

That evening – it was a Wednesday in the summer holidays – Percy had his old desk, bed and cupboard as a 'moving out gift' from his parents. He also bought a kitchen table, a couch, chairs and some other cheap furniture. He had all of those things – aside from his old things, which were in his room at the burrow – in his new flat. He could have moved into the flat since Monday, but he had had work to do and he had wanted his family to know first. So he would move in on Saturday then.

His parents were looking slightly stressed this evening for supper. Of course Ron, Ginny and the twins noticed but they didn't say anything.

As soon as Percy was alone in his bedroom did he take his robe off. He never told anyone, but he didn't like robes. They handicap you. If you have to run always from something or somebody you're always faster in pants than in a robe. Wearing a robe was unhandy. Especially if you've got Marcus Flint and his buddies chasing after you.

Underneath his robes Percy wore a black jeans and a blood red shirt with short sleeves. Percy did know how muggles dressed. How often had he walked away from the burrow at night to escape his 'perfect son' image? How often had he walked through muggle villages at night, looking at the muggles?

Muggles were different to wizards in many ways. For example, you could always find some muggles going to clubs, discos or such things even if it was midnight. Most wizards didn't stay out for long if it was night. Wizards feared the creatures that could come with the night. Vampires, werewolves, undead – just a dark wizard would go out at night.

Percy sighed heavily and let himself fall onto his bed. He liked his family, he did. But he wasn't perfect Percy, the strict and always rule-following son of Arthur and Molly Weasley. At first, he had been that. He had grown up in safe houses during the war until he had been six, always afraid to whisper and always following the rules. Charlie and Bill had been at Hogwarts, they hadn't grown up with the constant talk of Molly – watch out for strangers; don't leave the house; stay away from the windows; stay as silent s possible; don't get the attention of strangers.

There had been a reason as for why Oliver and he had been the only Gryffindors in their year. People had been afraid to get children at that time. And Oliver had been born in America. He hadn't experienced  the same things as Percy.

The first time Percy had the burrow he had been six and two months old. It had been the 1. November. His mother had exclaimed that this was his home but his six year old self had already believed that there was no such thing as 'home'. In order to survive had his mother changed the safe houses as often as possible. He had been four before he had understood that the funny man who came from time to time had been his father.

So he had followed the rules. He also had done so when he had gotten to Hogwarts. His parents had told him to get good marks and he had tried to do as they said. The first real memory Percy had was of his mother, telling him to do exactly everything she says. He had needed five years and Oliver to understand that he could also have fun like anybody else.

In his sixth year, Oliver had explained him that there wasn't a war anymore and that he could enjoy himself. It had taken him much courage to do so, but Oliver was a Gryffindor after all. Percy had realised there that he could have a life. But his parents were proud of him. Prefect, good marks, wasn't up to mischief, didn't get into trouble – to them, he was perfect.

So Percy had played the perfect boy for them and the school but privately he had begun to be himself.

Percy had always liked to draw and paint. In the safe houses you couldn't do loud things, so Percy had started to draw instead. He had had his own room at Hogwarts – together with Oliver of course, but Oliver didn't mind his drawings and paintings at all, instead he liked them – and much free time so he had drawn and painted.

Penelope had been an appearance thing. He had needed a girlfriend at that time and Penelope had needed a cover for her and her girlfriend, a nice blue-haired witch from Hufflepuff. Penelope and Percy had agreed to make it look like they were together for everyone's benefit. They had broken up shortly after they had left Hogwarts, not telling their families. The Clearwaters and the Weasleys most possibly still believed that they were together. But then again, nobody ever asked. Penelope had started her work at the Daily Prophet and gotten her own flat. Margaret – her Hufflepuff girlfriend – had moved in with her and Percy… well, as long as he still looked terribly busy with work and was 'at work'.

Of course he didn't always go to work. And he didn't write all those reports which he told his family about.

He drew. He had many paintings and drawings, mostly of people or jewellery. He liked to draw people. They were an interesting art object. Some were shy, some outgoing and you could see that easily from their body language. Most of the time, their face was enough. That's why Percy liked to draw people or their faces.

And jewellery. The way those gemstones or metals shone, how the sun was reflected from their surface…

Percy smiled into his pillow. All of his paintings were stored always in an empty little room at Oliver's flat. It had been Oliver's idea to store them there and Percy hadn't complained. He couldn't very well just put them on the wall here.

His parents thought that such things as drawing, painting, music or artists in general were frivolous. You couldn't make much money with them and to his parents money was important. They wanted their children to have more money than they had so that they could have a better life.

Percy would have a perfectly fine life if he could just paint the whole day. But he had the job at the ministry – which wasn't so bad now after all – and his parents wouldn't exactly like it if their son turned out to be an artist. It was bad enough that Charlie had gone off to Romania and the dragons and that the twins wanted their joke shop. Percy knew that Bill would love to have a more adventurous job or do something differently than break curses at Hogwarts, but the oldest Weasley brother pretended to be something else, just like Percy himself..

~Tomorrow after work I'm going to visit Oliver. I have to finish that painting. I hope has gotten an answer to his application…~

Percy began to snore as he let sleep claim him, still wearing his clothes and just laying there.

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7 am

Percy woke up automatically. His body had adapted to his sleeping patterns and woke up every morning at seven. Even if he had just had two hours sleep.

Groaning he stretched his arms and legs. He got out of bed and put his robe back on, not caring about the things underneath. It wasn't as if anybody would see them anyway. Maybe Oliver this afternoon when he would visit him. Oliver also liked to dress like a muggle and had no problem with Percy walking around in jeans and shirt.

Work went well. Percy was doing paper work in the Department of Mysteries and just filing one cases, writing reports, etc. He had access to the archives, was responsible for the timetables of the unspeakables – these people needed an exact timetable to know where they had to be at what time. Personally, Percy thought they were a bit strange – and transferring reports to the right people. All in all, an easy job. And quite well paid, at least for a Weasley.

Percy looked at the clock at the wall of his office and decided to finish in two hours, at 2 pm

**A/N**: Please review and tell me if you like it. This is my first Percy fic ever.


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